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Trying to do a mission with Epona of Time, and maybe it's because the enemies are unusually tough in it but...The horse doesn't do much damage in a lot of its combos -- and its C1 barely does any.The biggest problem is that the more you whale away at the enemy, the further they go flying.

With little damage output, I inevitably end up having to waste time chasing after an officer that goes blasting off again like Team Rocket.

Is there more to the horse than I'm understanding, or is it really just a lousy weapon?

The horse moveset is...difficult to control (I haven't used it often myself, though I do have quite a few skills I need to unlock for it). There's potential, but you have to really learn the weapon's moveset and gimmicks in order to maximize its potential (I'm not even sure if Hasty Attacks would be a good option, though you'd have to ask someone who's thoroughly used/mains the weapon for skill advice). However, one thing I know for sure is this: while it does struggle some to deal good consecutive damage against officers, C4-2 (end it/dodge-cancel after the second shockwave) and C5 are good options for K.O.ing troops, and the fact that you can hold the Strong Attack button at the end of combos (or in C4's case, hold the button when you press it the second time for C4-2) to instantly go into a dash (as long as Epona has energy) makes it a very effective hit-and-run weapon.

The Horse is all about combos. It's great at getting enemies in the air, and then keeping them there. C1 (running version) is very quick and launches enemies up, at which point you can use your string, C3 or C4 to start dealing heavy damage, while still keeping them in the air. You probably don't want to finish those charges, perhaps go to C3-2 or C4-2, and then use the charge attack to deal a bit of extra damage and continue the combo.

It takes a lot of practice, perhaps more than any other weapon, but it's fairly solid. It's one weapon I'd probably suggest not using Hasty attacks on, or you might find that rather than comboing easily, you just launch enemies away instead.

"When playing a game, the goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning." -Reiner Knizia

The Horse is all about combos. It's great at getting enemies in the air, and then keeping them there. C1 (running version) is very quick and launches enemies up, at which point you can use your string, C3 or C4 to start dealing heavy damage, while still keeping them in the air. You probably don't want to finish those charges, perhaps go to C3-2 or C4-2, and then use the charge attack to deal a bit of extra damage and continue the combo.

It takes a lot of practice, perhaps more than any other weapon, but it's fairly solid. It's one weapon I'd probably suggest not using Hasty attacks on, or you might find that rather than comboing easily, you just launch enemies away instead.

Yeah, I figured Hasty Attacks wouldn't be a good idea. It's difficult enough to keep enemies in combos. I guessing Regular Attack+ would be a better alternative in this case, right?

Horse's string is pretty solid, and has a nice last hit, so yeah, Regular Attacks+ is nice. The new skill that's coming (extra damage based on max health) would likely also be a good choice. You can also go for a Heart Strong/Defenceless/FB+ build for that final slot instead of the more typical No Healing/Hasty/FB+.

I'm personally no Horse expert, but I'd recommend this video for at least a good overview of how to use the horse decently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F7DBuTD8j4 - not all of his guides are perfect, but most give a pretty good overview of a weapon's strengths and weaknesses.

"When playing a game, the goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning." -Reiner Knizia

I'm not even sure if Hasty Attacks would be a good option, though you'd have to ask someone who's thoroughly used/mains the weapon for skill advice.

I use Hasty Attacks on everything... it does make Epona a little more difficult to control, but nothing that a bit of practice can't fix.

The problem for me with Epona at first was learning that the first Y attack is Epona's headbutt... that kind of screwed me up for a while. >_<

After that, I usually use Strong Attack IV for officers, which causes Epona to jump twice and Link to swing his sword a bunch of times and ending with a shockwave. I can usually juggle an officer pretty long with this method, though I'm sure there are more effective combos I haven't figured out. SA-II and SA-III are definitely more individual-targeted, but I've usually found SA-II's damage to be a bit underwhelming.

From my observations, I feel like Epona is a much better trash mob killer than anything... especially with a lot of movement combined with aforementioned SA-IV and SA-V. Usually I just kinda go nuts with those two in the middle of groups and try to focus on using SA-IV on officers.

Thanks for the comments everyone!After using Lv. 71 Link (Epona of Time 3 Stars) in the same mission with Lv. 39 Marin (Wavelet Bell 4 Stars), the latter was out-damaging Epona, even when using the Horse's combos and keeping enemies juggled.I think the problem is that Epona is suppose to juggle in a game that encourages 'weak point smashes', and the fact it isn't Lightning element to actually bolster the damage like with Agitha. It's a safe weapon in terms of keeping officers easily in the air, but its wasted on how little damage it does.

That definitely doesn't sound right. The Horse doesn't do crazy damage, but it's pretty good damage, and Marin isn't great at damage herself. It sounds to me like you're gonna need a lot more practice with the Horse. I mean, I need a lot more as well, but I've sometimes used it well and done pretty respectably with it.

"When playing a game, the goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning." -Reiner Knizia